CHAP. I. 1. Yang Ho wished to see Confucius, but Confucius would not go to see him. On this, he sent a present of a pig to Confucius, who, having chosen a time when Ho was not at home, went to pay his respects for the gift. He met him, however, on the way.

2. Ho said to Confucius, 'Come, let me speak with you.' He then asked, 'Can he be called benevolent who keeps his jewel in his bosom, and leaves his country to confusion?' Confucius replied, 'No.' 'Can he be called wise, who is anxious to be engaged in public employment, and yet is constantly losing the opportunity of being so?' Confucius again said, 'No.' 'The days and months are passing away; the years do not wait for us.' Confucius said, 'Right; I will go into office.'

CHAP. VI. Tsze-chang asked Confucius about perfect virtue. Confucius said, 'To be able to practise five things everywhere under heaven constitutes perfect virtue.' He begged to ask what they were, and was told, 'Gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness, and kindness. If you are grave, you will not be treated with disrespect. If you are generous, you will win all. If you are sincere, people will repose trust in you. If you are earnest, you will accomplish much. If you are kind, this will enable you to employ the services of others.

CHAP. VII. 1. Pi Hsi inviting him to visit him, the Master was inclined to go.

【第七章】【一节】佛肸召。子欲往。

【第七章】【一節】佛肸召。子欲往。

fó zhào zǐ yù wǎng

2. Tsze-lu said, 'Master, formerly I have heard you say, "When a man in his own person is guilty of doing evil, a superior man will not associate with him." Pi Hsi is in rebellion, holding possession of Chung-mau; if you go to him, what shall be said?'

3. The Master said, 'Yes, I did use these words. But is it not said, that, if a thing be really hard, it may be ground without being made thin? Is it not said, that, if a thing be really white, it may be steeped in a dark fluid without being made black?

4. 'Am I a bitter gourd! How can I be hung up out of the way of being eaten?'

【四节】吾岂匏瓜也哉、焉能系而不食。

【四節】吾豈匏瓜也哉、焉能繫而不食。

wú qǐ páo guā yě zāi yān néng jì ér bù shí

CHAP. VIII. 1. The Master said, 'Yu, have you heard the six words to which are attached six becloudings?' Yu replied, 'I have not.'

【第八章】【一节】子曰、由也、女闻六言六蔽矣乎。对曰、未也。

【第八章】【一節】子曰、由也、女聞六言六蔽矣乎。對曰、未也。

zǐ yuē yóu yě nǚ wén liù yán liù bì yǐ hū duì yuē wèi yě

2. 'Sit down, and I will tell them to you.

【二节】 居、吾语女。

【二節】 居、吾語女。

jū wú yǔ nǚ

3. 'There is the love of being benevolent without the love of learning;-- the beclouding here leads to a foolish simplicity. There is the love of knowing without the love of learning;-- the beclouding here leads to dissipation of mind. There is the love of being sincere without the love of learning;-- the beclouding here leads to an injurious disregard of consequences. There is the love of straightforwardness without the love of learning;-- the beclouding here leads to rudeness. There is the love of boldness without the love of learning;-- the beclouding here leads to insubordination. There is the love of firmness without the love of learning;-- the beclouding here leads to extravagant conduct.'

CHAP. IX. 1. The Master said, 'My children, why do you not study the Book of Poetry?

【第九章】【一节】子曰、小子、何莫学夫诗。

【第九章】【一節】子曰、小子、何莫學夫詩。

zǐ yuē xiǎo zǐ hé mò xué fū shī

2. 'The Odes serve to stimulate the mind.

【二节】诗可以兴。

【二節】詩可以興。

shī kěyǐ xìng

3. 'They may be used for purposes of self-contemplation.

【三节】 可以观。

【三節】 可以觀。

kěyǐ guān

4. 'They teach the art of sociability.

【四节】可以群。

【四節】可以群。

kěyǐ qún

5. 'They show how to regulate feelings of resentment.

【五节】可以怨。

【五節】可以怨。

kěyǐ yuàn

6. 'From them you learn the more immediate duty of serving one's father, and the remoter one of serving one's prince.

【六节】迩之事父、远之事君。

【六節】邇之事父、遠之事君。

ěr zhī shì fù yuǎn zhī shì jūn

7. 'From them we become largely acquainted with the names of birds, beasts, and plants.'

【七节】多识於鸟兽草木之名。

【七節】多識於鳥獸草木之名。

duō shí yú niǎo shòu cǎo mù zhī míng

CHAP. X. The Master said to Po-yu, 'Do you give yourself to the Chau-nan and the Shao-nan. The man who has not studied the Chau-nan and the Shao-nan, is like one who stands with his face right against a wall. Is he not so?'

CHAP. XI. The Master said, '"It is according to the rules of propriety," they say.-- "It is according to the rules of propriety," they say. Are gems and silk all that is meant by propriety? "It is music," they say.-- "It is music," they say. Are bells and drums all that is meant by music?'

CHAP. XII. The Master said, 'He who puts on an appearance of stern firmness, while inwardly he is weak, is like one of the small, mean people;-- yea, is he not like the thief who breaks through, or climbs over, a wall?'

【十二章】子曰、色厉而内荏、譬诸小人、其犹穿窬之盗也与。

【十二章】子曰、色厲而內荏、譬諸小人、其猶穿窬之盜也與。

zǐ yuē sè lì ér nèi rěn pì zhū xiǎo rén qí yóu chuān yú zhī dào yě yǔ

CHAP. XIII. The Master said, 'Your good, careful people of the villages are the thieves of virtue.'

【十三章】子曰、乡原、德之贼也。

【十三章】子曰、鄉原、德之賊也。

zǐ yuē xiāng yuán dé zhī zéi yě

CHAP. XIV. The Master said, 'To tell, as we go along, what we have heard on the way, is to cast away our virtue.'

【十四章】子曰、道听而涂说、德之弃也。

【十四章】子曰、道聽而塗說、德之棄也。

zǐ yuē dào tīng ér tú shuō dé zhī qì yě

CHAP. XV. 1. The Master said, 'There are those mean creatures! How impossible it is along with them to serve one's prince!

【十五章】【一节】子曰、鄙夫、可与事君也与哉。

【十五章】【一節】子曰、鄙夫、可與事君也與哉。

zǐ yuē bǐ fū kě yǔ shì jūn yě yǔ zāi

2. 'While they have not got their aims, their anxiety is how to get them. When they have got them, their anxiety is lest they should lose them.

【二节】其未得之也、 患得之、既得之、患失之。

【二節】其未得之也、 患得之、既得之、患失之。

qí wèi de zhī yě huàn de zhī jì de zhī huàn shī zhī

3. 'When they are anxious lest such things should be lost, there is nothing to which they will not proceed.'

【三节】苟患失之、无所不至矣。

【三節】苟患失之、無所不至矣。

gǒu huàn shī zhī wú suǒ bù zhì yǐ

CHAP. XVI. 1. The Master said, 'Anciently, men had three failings, which now perhaps are not to be found.

【十六章】【一节】子曰、古者、民有三疾、今也或是之亡也。

【十六章】【一節】子曰、古者、民有三疾、今也或是之亡也。

zǐ yuē gǔ zhě mín yǒu sān jí jīn yě huò shì zhī wáng yě

2. 'The high-mindedness of antiquity showed itself in a disregard of small things; the high-mindedness of the present day shows itself in wild license. The stern dignity of antiquity showed itself in grave reserve; the stern dignity of the present day shows itself in quarrelsome perverseness. The stupidity of antiquity showed itself in straightforwardness; the stupidity of the present day shows itself in sheer deceit.'

CHAP. XVII. The Master said, 'Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with virtue.'

【十七章】子曰、攷言令色鲜矣仁。

【十七章】子曰、攷言令色鮮矣仁。

zǐ yuē yán lìng sè xiān yǐ rén

CHAP. XVIII. The Master said, 'I hate the manner in which purple takes away the luster of vermilion. I hate the way in which the songs of Chang confound the music of the Ya. I hate those who with their sharp mouths overthrow kingdoms and families.'

CHAP. XX. Zu Pei wished to see Confucius, but Confucius declined, on the ground of being sick, to see him. When the bearer of this message went out at the door, (the Master) took his lute and sang to it, in order that Pei might hear him.

CHAP. XXI. 1. Tsai Wo asked about the three years' mourning for parents, saying that one year was long enough.

【廿一章】【一节】宰我问、三年之丧期已久矣。

【廿一章】【一節】宰我問、三年之喪期已久矣。

zǎi wǒ wèn sān nián zhī sāng qī yǐ jiǔ yǐ

2. 'If the superior man,' said he, 'abstains for three years from the observances of propriety, those observances will be quite lost. If for three years he abstains from music, music will be ruined.

【二节】君子三年不为礼、 礼必坏、三年不为乐、乐必崩。

【二節】君子三年不為禮、 禮必壞、三年不為樂、樂必崩。

jūnzǐ sān nián bù wéi lǐ lǐ bì huài sān nián bù wéi yuè yuè bì bēng

3. 'Within a year the old grain is exhausted, and the new grain has sprung up, and, in procuring fire by friction, we go through all the changes of wood for that purpose. After a complete year, the mourning may stop.'

【三节】旧谷既没、新谷既升、钻燧改火、期可已矣。

【三節】舊穀既沒、新穀既升、鑽燧改火、期可已矣。

jiù gǔ jì mò xīn gǔ jì shēng zuān suì gǎi huǒ qī kě yǐ yǐ

4. The Master said, 'If you were, after a year, to eat good rice, and wear embroidered clothes, would you feel at ease?' 'I should,' replied Wo.

【四节】子曰、食夫稻、衣夫锦、於女安乎。曰、安。

【四節】子曰、食夫稻、衣夫錦、於女安乎。曰、安。

zǐ yuē shí fū dào yī fū jǐn yú nǚ ān hū yuē ān

5. The Master said, 'If you can feel at ease, do it. But a superior man, during the whole period of mourning, does not enjoy pleasant food which he may eat, nor derive pleasure from music which he may hear. He also does not feel at ease, if he is comfortably lodged. Therefore he does not do what you propose. But now you feel at ease and may do it.'

6. Tsai Wo then went out, and the Master said, 'This shows Yu's want of virtue. It is not till a child is three years old that it is allowed to leave the arms of its parents. And the three years' mourning is universally observed throughout the empire. Did Yu enjoy the three years' love of his parents?'

CHAP. XXII. The Master said, 'Hard is it to deal with him, who will stuff himself with food the whole day, without applying his mind to anything good! Are there not gamesters and chess players? To be one of these would still be better than doing nothing at all.'

CHAP. XXIII. Tsze-lu said, 'Does the superior man esteem valour?' The Master said, 'The superior man holds righteousness to be of highest importance. A man in a superior situation, having valour without righteousness, will be guilty of insubordination; one of the lower people having valour without righteousness, will commit robbery.'

CHAP. XXIV. 1. Tsze-kung said, 'Has the superior man his hatreds also?' The Master said, 'He has his hatreds. He hates those who proclaim the evil of others. He hates the man who, being in a low station, slanders his superiors. He hates those who have valour merely, and are unobservant of propriety. He hates those who are forward and determined, and, at the same time, of contracted understanding.'

2. The Master then inquired, 'Ts'ze, have you also your hatreds?' Tsze-kung replied, 'I hate those who pry out matters, and ascribe the knowledge to their wisdom. I hate those who are only not modest, and think that they are valourous. I hate those who make known secrets, and think that they are straightforward.'

CHAP. XXV. The Master said, 'Of all people, girls and servants are the most difficult to behave to. If you are familiar with them, they lose their humility. If you maintain a reserve towards them, they are discontented.'